Grandson, Lally interview for full-time superintendent job

Thursday

Mar 30, 2017 at 11:30 AMMar 30, 2017 at 11:30 AM

By Gillian Swart malden@wickedlocal.com

Malden’s Interim Superintendent Charles Grandson may not have received a standing ovation at his interview for the permanent superintendent position -- as former Malden High principal Dana Brown did earlier in the week -- but he did have a substantial following that quietly came in, quietly sat, and quietly left when his interview with the School Committee was over.

Common assessments district-wide, innovative teachers, and teams were common threads between Grandson and fellow candidate Patricia Lally, the superintendent in Holbrook who also interviewed for the Malden job on Wednesday.

Grandson, who called himself an “instructional leader,” has been Malden's interim superintendent for nine months and was the first to face the School Committee on Wednesday night at the Senior Center.

In his opening statement, Grandson said his “commitment to Malden comes from being cut from the same cloth” as the diverse community. At 33 years old when he was appointed, he may also be the youngest contender for the position that became vacant last year after former Superintendent David DeRuosi left for Saugus.

Lally, the other interviewee on Wednesday night, also applied for the Saugus position, according to reports. She is the superintendent in Holbrook, a community of some 10,000 people south of Boston.

Grandson said in his opening statement: “Over the past year, I have fallen in love with the community and with the Malden Public Schools.”

He added that he approached the past months as if he was not an interim, because students “cannot afford to have an interim academic experience for one year.”

Grandson said his son C.J. was an infant when he began and now is a toddler. “I would be proud to raise him in Malden,” he said.

Citing late-night committee meetings and meetings with community and civic leaders, school leaders and teachers, Grandson said: “Without question, I have proven my commitment to Malden.”

He added that this is the community he would like to spend the next chapter of his career in.

“I come here today for your support; I believe there is no work more important in our society than educating our youth,” he said. “In order to do that effectively requires genuine and thoughtful teamwork.”

Grandson listed his achievements in Malden, such as his instructional focus walks, a district leadership team, and one-on-one meetings with district and school leaders “to ensure that we don’t lose our goal focus.”

He said the district has also forged “powerful partnerships” around race, equity and diversity.

"We really formed a well-oiled machine that’s based on trust and a common goal,” Grandson said. “I don’t believe in retaliation and coming after people.”

Committee member Tara Beardsley asked Grandson about statements from a previous meeting regarding problems in the schools and his approach as the head of schools – an advisory position, he said.

“It really comes down to … making sure that student achievement and instruction is at the core of what we’re doing. And that’s not an easy thing … and we’re not alone in doing that work,” he said.

He repeated his commitment to students not having an interim year - a year when he was completely hands off - but said that “when people make mistakes, you talk to them, right? – And I think sometimes that may have not happened in the past, where things may just have been allowed to happen.”

He said he didn’t think it was fair to allow people to do things not in the best interest of students and parents and stay silent. He also has advised on the legality of some actions being discussed in School Committee and subcommittee meetings.

Grandson was asked about the 5 District Partnership Malden has with Revere, Everett, Chelsea and Winthrop. Mayor Gary Christenson said it was “causing consternation” among teachers.

“I think we have to take the best and leave the rest,” Grandson said. For example, he said the best was access to MasteryConnect, a teacher application that allows teachers to launch and deliver student assessments with an iPad or iPhone.

Quoting President John F. Kennedy in a speech where he said, “We choose to go to the moon,” Grandson said, “Leadership for me is getting people to do things they didn’t believe was possible. I’m asking for your support because I’m unwilling to postpone excellence for Malden schools.”

Grandson’s experience includes serving as associate director of Leadership Development at the Harvard Kenney School’s Center for Public Leadership and as Deputy Superintendent at the Poughkeepsie (NY) City School District. He chairs the Educational Leadership Program at Cambridge College.

A native of Washington, D.C., he was the Deputy Superintendent in Poughkeepsie for one year and three months, School Redesign Officer and Principal of the High School of Commerce in the Springfield (MA) Public Schools and a teacher in the Boston Public Schools.

Grandson earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and B.A. from Boston College.

Patricia Lally

Lally also opted to make an opening statement. She, too, believes in getting people motivated. She said through the selection process, she has seen a lot of similarities in what she has experienced and what Malden is going through.

Holbrook’s enrollment is 1,238 students. Malden has about 6,700 students. Lally said there is diversity in Holbrook.

“We are all trying to do the best we can for students with limited funds and I think that we try to do that; every year it gets harder and harder,” she said.

Lally described herself as a “collaborative leader” and a team person. She said there are probably a lot of underdeveloped leaders in any district.

“We need multi-talented people, people who can coach … we have to give them the opportunity to shine and also help their peers.”

Both candidates discussed teams and working with others in the district and out of the district. Lally discussed how she was part of the drive (as assistant superintendent) to get Tewksbury High School to Level 1 with the state. Motivation was a big part of that, she said.

Malden is a Level 3 district because Malden High School is a Level 3 school. All of the other schools are rated at Level 2.

Lally said that respect is key to her as an educator, and playing by the rules. What she really values, she said, was “good, solid high expectation education.”

John Froio (Ward 8) asked Lally if she thought she had “cultural proficiency” to lead the Malden schools. She replied that she thinks she is “sufficiently aware.”

When asked about safety issues in the schools, Lally cited some measures that are not at the level that Malden schools face – license plate and driver’s license readers. Malden students went through training on how to repel a possible school invader.

Lally, like Grandson, referenced MasteryConnect as one of the assets in the Malden schools, along with Footsteps2Brilliance, a literacy tool.

Lally has been superintendent in Holbrook since 2013. Prior to that she went through the ranks from assistant principal in Tewksbury to become assistant superintendent there. She also taught in Melrose.

She holds a doctorate of philosophy in educational leadership (Capella University), Master of Arts in generic special education (Regis College), Master of Education in reading (Tufts University) and a B.A. in French (Emmanuel College).

Lally said she feels she needs a new challenge – and a position closer to home in Arlington.

Next steps

On Thursday at 6 p.m., the School Committee will interview its fifth and last finalist: Somerville High School headmaster John Oteri. On Monday, the committee interviewed Dana Brown and East Haven (Conn.) Superintendent Portia Bonner.